Archive for August, 2018

“The best I can describe it would be to tell you it was like the scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix where Professor Umbridge punishes Harry by making him write lines over and over with a Blood Quill. Every time Harry writes something on paper, the words get seared into the back of his hand. So there were moments when it was painful and difficult to make this book. My beautiful studio space would get transformed into that small kitchen in Worcester where difficult moments played out. That being said, there were also many wonderful moments to relive. Those scenes brought me great joy, and when the book was finished, I sort of had to mourn the loss of my grandparents all over again. It was truly a gift to spend that time with them again.”

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Over at Kirkus today, I talk with author-illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka about his graphic novel memoir, Hey, Kiddo, coming to shelves in October.

That is here, and next week here at 7-Imp, I’ll follow up with some more images from the book.

I’m following up with art from each book today. Closing out the post is also a sneak peek at Julie’s next picture book (for Holiday House, to be published in 2020), written by Candace Fleming. Julie says, “I finished the dummy and am just working on final art. The text is fabulous! I’m not sure the title is final, but at the moment it is titled Cubs in the Nursery.”

Coming to shelves early next month will be a new picture book from Yuyi Morales, called Dreamers (Neal Porter Books). In this splendid picture book — have mercy, it is a beautiful thing — she tells her own immigration story.

I’m not going to say much about the book today, because I will be writing about it soon for BookPage. (When I do so, I will link to that here from 7-Imp.) But today, I’m giving 7-Imp over to Yuyi, who is sharing a photo essay about the making of this book. (This is very similar to what she did here in 2014 for the making of Viva Frida, and that is one of my favorite posts in over a decade of blogging.)

I thank Yuyi for sharing. You can click on each image in this post, especially if you want to see larger versions of some of them.

“Kingfisher: the colour-giver, fire-bringer, flame-flicker, river’s quiver. …”(Click image to enlarge and read the text in its entirety)

The restoration of the missing words of nature via a spellbook. That’s what I have for you today, dear Imps.

Though Robert Macfarlane’sThe Lost Words, illustrated by Jackie Morris — originally published last year in the UK but coming to American shelves in October from House of Anansi Press — makes no mention of the Oxford Junior Dictionary, it has a lot to do with the book’s very genesis. Here’s how Katharine Norbury explains it in this 2017 article at the Guardian:

Last week, I wrote here about Renato Moriconi’sThe Little Barbarian (Eerdmans, August 2018) and Kate Gardner’s Lovely Beasts: The Surprising Truth (Balzer + Bray, September 2018), illustrated by Heidi Smith. I’m following up with a bit of art from each book today.

I’m doing something a little bit different today. I’ve not got a picture book for you this morning, dear Imps. I have a novel.

This is one of my favorite books this year, Catherine Gilbert Murdock’sThe Book of Boy (Greenwillow, February 2018). I like it so much that I’m reading it a second time — this time, I’m reading it out loud to my daughters.

“This story, like another, begins with an apple,” the book begins. This is the tale, set in Europe in 1350, of a boy who can talk to animals. His name is merely Boy. He is physically disfigured and mercilessly mocked for it. He is called a hunchback, and when he meets a mysterious pilgrim, named Secundus, in the medieval town of France where he lives, his life changes forever. In fact, when Boy leaves with Secundus (Secundus is impressed with his ability to jump and climb) to help the pilgrim find the seven relics of Saint Peter — rib, tooth, thumb, toe, dust, skull, tomb — it’s the first time Boy ever leaves the only home he’s ever known. He pilgrims to the city of Rome with Secundus in the hopes that Saint Peter can remove his hump and make him a real boy.

“Josie checked for a loose tooth every night.But nothing ever moved, not even a bit.”(Click to enlarge spread)

I am always interested in seeing the latest picture book release from Jennifer K. Mann. Her stories possess such respect for the inner lives of children, and she captures domestic and school-related dramas so perfectly. (Here’s my 2016 7-Imp interview with her, if her books are new to you, by chance, and you want to explore.) Her newest picture book, Josie’s Lost Tooth (Candlewick), is no exception. It will be on shelves next month. Here’s a quick peek inside.

Has anyone else noticed how many superb picture books former editor and now-author Richard Jackson has been penning? I tell you what, they have been some of my favorite picture book texts in the last couple of years. Last year’s This Beautiful Day, illustrated by Suzy Lee; last year’s All Ears, All Eyes, illustrated by Katherine Tillotson; and 2016’s In Plain Sight, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, are but a few examples. The legendary editor retired in 2005 and has taken up picture book-writing. Here is a great PW piece about him, published two years ago.

His newest picture book — A Kiss for Akaraka (Greenwillow), illustrated by E. B. Goodale — will be on shelves in late September. This is the story of a father and daughter (Lula) outdoors, raking leaves and discussing the girl’s imaginary friend, Akaraka. I just read the Kirkus review for the book, where the reviewer writes: “Questions about what we see and what we don’t see, what we know and what we don’t know ripple through this beguiling book like a playful October wind.” Ah, yes. Well-said. Read the rest of this entry �